Officials slam hospital food as health experts demand menu overhaul: 'Farm to gurney'

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing to expand the Dietary Guidelines for Americans into hospitals, integrating federal nutrition standards into patient care.

On March 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, sent a memo directing hospitals to align their meals with the guidelines by reducing ultraprocessed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined carbohydrates and added sugars.

Kennedy reportedly shared that Oz’s memo effectively acts like a federal mandate, as hospitals may need to follow the dietary guidelines to maintain funding.

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Most hospital menus rely heavily on convenience foods, according to Dr. Hamid Khan, chief medical officer of Jorie AI, a healthcare revenue service.

"Patients are often served items such as pasta, processed deli meats, packaged snacks with artificial components, sugary desserts, cereals, juice and soda," he told Fox News Digital. 

"Although many hospitals have begun the implementation of 'healthier options,' the average menu still tends to prioritize low cost, long shelf life and ease of preparation over nutrition."

Larger concerns include high sugar and sodium levels, processed ingredients and refined carbohydrates in hospital foods, Khan said. "There seems to be a lack of high-quality protein, fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy fats," he added.

Khan said he has seen patients order their meals from Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats because they felt the hospital menu options were not healthy enough.

"Most of the hospital meals do not provide adequate nutrients … to properly support healing, muscle maintenance, immunity or overall recovery," he told Fox News Digital.

"Poor nutrition only makes things worse for this patient pool," Khan went on. "Ultimately, poor nutrition is very harmful for elderly patients and people with chronic illnesses. They are at a higher risk for muscle loss, weakness, delayed healing, infection and re-infection."

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian is partnering with Tampa General Hospital in Florida to transform hospital dining, introducing Mediterranean diet–inspired meals for patients.

Zakarian told Fox News Digital that hospital food is often a mix of "high desire, low-value and low-nutrition food," typically priced to meet a strict per-plate cost that hospitals cannot exceed.

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"[There is] very little emphasis on original, pasture-raised proteins and fats like eggs, whole dairy grass-fed beef and poultry, and unprocessed vegetables," he said.

In Tampa, Zakarian has been working since 2023 to eliminate all processed foods — removing items containing hormones, added sugars, seed oils and anything prepackaged.

"All the food originates from farms and gardens in and around Tampa," he said, calling the mission "Farm to Gurney."

Sec. Kennedy and CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced a similar initiative at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.

Vani Hari, known as the "Food Babe," told Fox News Digital that this is the first time leaders in Washington are openly acknowledging that food is medicine.

"The fact that they had to send a memo reminding hospitals of that tells you everything about how broken the system is," said Hari, who is based in North Carolina. "People are at their most vulnerable in a hospital bed – and for decades, nobody in charge seemed to care what they were eating."

Medicare and Medicaid fund the majority of inpatient services, including at least half of inpatient days at 96% of hospitals and two-thirds or more at 80% of hospitals, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA).

An AHA spokesperson told Fox News Digital that hospitals recognize nutritious food is an essential part of healing and recovery. 

"They are deeply committed to providing patients with high‑quality, nutritious meals that meet clinical standards, individual dietary needs and federal guidance," said the spokesperson. 

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Hospital teams collaborate with registered dietitians and clinical staff to make sure each patient receives meals tailored to their medical needs and recovery plan, according to the AHA.

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The spokesperson also said the organization regularly evaluates current evidence-based nutrition recommendations and integrates them into meal programs.

"Beyond the hospital walls, we partner with community organizations to expand access to nutritious food, provide education on healthy eating, and support initiatives that promote long‑term wellness," they added.